Smoked Salmon on Pressed Rice

1. You will need a sushi press (or a terrine mold or two baking sheets) to press this sushi, a rice cooker is very helpful and there are several Japanese ingredients that may not be available in the average supermarket, Japanese rice, ao nori ko and rice vinegar, these are available from Japanese shops like Katagiri in New York and you will want to make shari, the salt, vinegar and sugar mix used in sushi rice, shari can be bought premade but I prefer the flavor of homemade shari. Rinse rice in running water until the water runs clear then drain rice and put it into a rice cooker. Add 1 cup water and let sit 30 minutes then turn on the machine.
2. When the rice is cooked let it cool until it is not steaming any more then turn the rice out of the pot into a wooden bowl and start to add the shari. Add a few tablespoons of shari at a time and toss the rice and fan it while adding the shari the idea is for the rice to absorb the shari while it is warm and for the rice to absorb it evenly. Let the rice cool and cover with plastic wrap. Use wet hands and tools to handle this rice, it is very sticky Soak the rice press in water for 10 minutes then lay a layer of smoked salmon on the bottom of the press, smear it with a very thin layer of wasabi paste an cover with 1/2-inch of sushi rice tap it down with the lid of the press, sprinkle ao nori powder and chopped dill over this layer and cover with another 1/2-inch of sushi rice then press very hard with the pot of the sushi press. Turn the pressed rice out and cut into serving pieces.

SHARI, CONDIMENT FOR SUSHI RICE

1. In a nonreactive pot over a medium heat stir the rice vinegar, sugar and salt until the sugar and salt are dissolved and the liquid is clear. Cool the liquid